Ann's maxims

a few rules to write by

¶ Always keep the reader in mind. Never leave him or her thinking,"What the heck does that mean?"

¶ Proof your work. Twice.

¶ Ask yourself: Can I say it better?

¶ “God is in the details” and "Less is more." Mies van der Rohe, a leader of Modern architecture, didn't have writing in mind when he came up with these aphorisms Barcelona in 1929. Nonetheless, it couldn't be truer.

¶ The unabridged Oxford English Dictionary, which takes up more than half a library shelf, contains 250,000 distinct words in current use in the English language. Surely you can find synonyms for “awesome,” “dude,” and “sa-weet" when you speak, not to mention strong verbs and bright adjectives when you write.